Seymour Topping, Renowned Journalist and Former Managing Editor of the New York Times, to Receive Honorary Degree from Adelphi University

Garden City, NY
March 29, 2009

Seymour Topping

Adelphi University is pleased to award renowned journalist and former managing editor of the New York Times, Seymour Topping, an honorary doctor of humane letters degree at its 113th Commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 21, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. in Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 1255 Hempstead Turnpike, Uniondale, NY.

Mr. Topping has had a varied career as a foreign correspondent, newspaper editor, university professor, and author. He got his start as a foreign correspondent to the Associated Press, for which he covered the Chinese Civil War, and became the first correspondent to report on the fall of Nanking. He was the first American correspondent stationed in Vietnam after the World War II, and also served as diplomatic correspondent in London and bureau chief in Berlin.

Working for the New York Times for more than three decades, Mr. Topping eventually ascended to the position of managing editor of the newspaper, before becoming editorial director of The Times’ 32 regional newspapers.

For nearly 10 years, Mr. Topping served as administrator for the Pulitzer Prizes, and as San Paolo Professor of International Journalism in the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University; he retired from both in 2002. He has since been recognized with the distinction of San Paolo professor emeritus, and continues to lecture at universities in the United States and abroad; he is also president of the International Advisory Board of the School of Journalism at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Mr. Topping has authored a number of texts, and was jointly awarded the first annual Greenway-Winship Award for Service to International Journalism, which he and his wife, photojournalist Audrey Ronning Topping, both accepted from International Center for Journalists in 2002. The couple has covered numerous assignments together, including the French Indochina War and the Vietnam War, and in 2005 they toured Vietnam together. The two currently reside in Scarsdale, New York.

Adelphi University will confirm more than 2,500 graduates at the associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels at its Commencement. Adelphi President Robert A. Scott will deliver the Commencement address. Honorary degrees will also be awarded to Audrey Ronning Topping, prize-winning photojournalist, and Suzy Dalton Sonenberg M.S.W.’76, executive director of the Long Island Community Foundation. Joan Kuster ’51, dedicated alumna and community member, will receive the Ruth Stratton Harley Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.

For more information and the full day’s program, please contact Adelphi’s commencement office at (516) 877-4695, or visit http://www.adelphi.edu/commencement/.

About Adelphi University: Adelphi University, chartered in 1896, was the first institution of higher education for the liberal arts and sciences on Long Island. Through its schools and programs—The College of Arts and Sciences, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Honors College, Ruth S. Ammon School of Education, University College, and the Schools of Business, Nursing, and Social Work—the co-educational university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as professional and educational programs for adults. Adelphi University currently enrolls nearly 8,500 students from 41 states and 63 foreign countries. With its main campus in Garden City and centers in Manhattan, Hauppauge, and Poughkeepsie, the University maintains a commitment to liberal studies in tandem with rigorous professional preparation and active citizenship.


Media Contact
For additional information, please contact:

Kali Chan Media Relations Director p - 516.877.4040 f - 516.877.3266 e - chan@adelphi.edu